Flon Klar Guitars

Hey Everyone-

It's been a while since I posted a new build. I don't have a real shop anymore, so building has become more of a pain and less of a pleasure. That said;

This is Talon, my 10th completed project.

Type: 4-string bass

Scale: 35 inch

Configuration: Neck-through

Body woods: 5-piece laminate (each wing) of African mahogany core; black walnut top and back (headstock has walnut top only); blue-dyed birch accent lines; spalted maple "FK Spider" logo inlay

Neck woods: 7-piece laminate of Honduras mahogany center; blue-dyed birch accent lines, 2 layers of tigery rock maple on either side

Fretboard: Zebrawood, with mahogany "T" logo inlay at 12th fret; blue and white pearloid fret marker inlays; 26 stainless steel frets

Finish: 6 coats of tung oil; 3 coats of gloss polyurethane

Hardware: Hipshot Supertone bridge; Schaller M4 tuners, with drop tuner; 2-way truss rod; Hipshot string retainer (modified); Neutrik locking output jack; chrome with blue pearloid volume and tone knobs; handmade brass nut with adjustable-height saddles; handmade aluminum strap button extension; Dunlop Straploks

Electronics: (1) EMG MMTW pickup (both coils tied together); EMG EXB tone control

So far, sounds and plays great. Not so sure if I like the EXB too much; personally, I think it muddies up the sound. I'll have to play with it some more.

As is usual for me, I experimented a lot with materials, hardware, and techniques. Except the pickups- LOVE the MMTW!

I had some problems putting it together. It would seem that zebrawood probably isn't the best fretboard material. After meticulously leveling the fretboard and installing, leveling, and dressing the frets, I found that the frets buzzed horribly. I worked the frets until there was nearly nothing left of them, then discovered that the fretboard was quite wavy! Pulled the frets, re-sanded the board straight, re-installed a new set of frets (remember, they're stainless!). Still had the buzzing. Looked again at the fretboard- wavy AGAIN! Pulled the frets re-sanded the board, installed the 3rd set of frets. Finally, success!

Buzzing gone, but also- most of fretboard gone! This caused another set of issues: the 12th fret side dots were now showing through the surface of the board; with the lower fretboard, the bridge saddles bottomed out, so I had to router out a recess so I could lower the entire bridge; I had to grind down the bottom of the nut to lower it as well; and on top of it all, the headstock angle was no longer sufficient to get a good string break over the nut, so I had to replace the 2-string retainer (for the middle strings) with a 3-string retainer (which I modified to fit all 4 strings).

The other major problem was neck dive. With the upper horn being so narrow, I wasn't able to position the strap button where it should have been to balance the bass. After researching the options, I devised a little attachment that allows the bass to balance out. It's not even too ugly!

So I learned a few things the hard way. What else is new in guitar/bass building?!

Hope you like it! All comments welcome. Thanks!

Something that nobody else mentioned- 6" is plenty wide for each wing of a neck-through.

Exactly my point- Once that bass gets out in circulation and proves itself, I hope it will help build my reputation and my future in guitar/bass-building!

out of interest i just did a worldwide search in the guitar section of ebay for "handmade custom"

i got 23 electrics, 5 acoustics and 4 basses (32). about 16-18 fit that description of "handmade custom" for me (i.e not a handmade custom in a chinese sweatshop)... about 5 of those are currently under priced and will hopefully sell. most of the rest that are aiming for "market value" or more wont budge

here is a current bargain - will it go above $750??? it really should but who knows

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Schoepfer-8-sting-handmade-one-kind-custom-made-/250760334056?pt=Guitar&hash=item3a627b0ae8#ht_1464wt_1139

what about Flon Klar's banana

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Banana-Bass-handmade-fretless-must-see-custom-built-WOW-/250760333653?pt=Guitar&hash=item3a627b0955#ht_781wt_1139

(Didnt realise they were both the same seller)

Since I've been mentioned by name in a previous reply, I guess I'll add my $.02:

I've sold 2 of my basses on ebay. In both cases I started the bidding at the cost of materials, and in both cases that's what I ended up with. I sold my Banana bass (my 7th build) to the ebay seller (who currently has it for re-sale) for $500. So maybe ebay isn't the place for an unknown builder to make a profit, but I can only hope that the exposure and distribution of the product will help shine more of the spotlight on my work in the future. On a slightly different tack, I recently had 2 of my basses stolen, and the insurance company appraised them at $1200 each- so apparently they are maybe worth more than I can actually sell them for. That's where the whims of the buyers comes in to the equation- you never know how your work will strike someone out there, and how much they'd be willing to pay for it! I'm going to keep trying...

Actually, I was told by the police NOT to bring pix to the pawn shop. Once the pawn shop knows that they have purchased stolen goods, they will be very resistant to admitting that they have the basses in their possession, and the pawn shop will not want to lose the money they invested.

Thanks man. Yeah, I've been checking Craigslist and ebay every day, but I can't check the pawn shops for another week because of the 30-day hold policy. At least they shouldn't be too hard to spot!

Great! Thanks for the quick responses. They must be discontinued, as they don't appear on Schaller's website.

Can anyone tell me who makes (made) this bridge? I know it's not a great pic, but I'll try to describe it. It's 2 pieces: a 2-stud-mounted bridge with individual roller saddles (like a Tune-o-matic), and an L-shaped stop piece that fits into a slot at the rear of the mounted bridge. I bought this thing on ebay several years ago, but it has since been stolen. It's the coolest bridge I've ever used, and I'd like to find more. Please let me know if you recognize it. Thanks.

These basses were stolen from my practice space in Salt Lake City, UT on Sep. 21. The 2 outer instruments were hand-built by myself, so I would really like to get them back. The ESP LTD DF-404 has a serial number of R0412016. If you see these basses, please call me at 801-633-1538 or the Salt Lake Police Dept. at 801-799-3000, or you can email me at flon_klar@yahoo.com. Thanks.

For what it's worth- I have used 2-part Mirror Coat on a cocobolo fretboard with great results- it adheres very well.

It's kinda funny. My second build, a fretless bass, I played on for over a year. It was a nice sounding, nice playing bass, but I thought I could do better. So I sold it on ebay, and the buyer thought is was a great bass, and he got it for a great price. I've built 1 guitar on commission since then, plus 6 other basses. Two of those basses (one is the replacement fretless) are SO nice that they are my 2 favorite instruments, and I will never give them up. The others are still in various stages of near completion or refinishing. But I already see a self-defeating pattern emerging- I'm afraid that any instruments I make of great quality I will be unwilling to part with!

Or you could cut the whole neck and head from 1 piece and not worry about a scarf at all. Just a thought...

i absolutly HATE this bass!

yet, i am so jelous of your talent and creativity;

and the craftsmanship looks amazing.

Thanks, I think...

I recorded a few minutes of me doodling on the bass. It's not a great recording, but I just wanted to demonstrate some of the variety of sounds it gets. I don't see anywhere that this forum allows mp3 uploads, but if anyone wants to hear the clip, email me (see link below) with your regular email address and I can send it to you.

My Email

Thanks for the comments everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I was experimenting tonight with the tonal possibilities, and it really has a very wide range of timbres, from a low growling boom to a full-bodied nasal drone, and that's just with the practice amp. I'm REALLY happy with the sound and the way it plays, and I'm dying to plug it in to my regular rig! I'll try to record a few sound samples in the next couple of days and either post them somewhere or have them available for email.

Just finished my latest build, the "Banana" bass. Not quite as "pointy" as some of my other designs, but still unique (as far as I know, anyway).

Specs:

4-string lined fretless

set-neck

11-piece laminated neck: maple center, African mahogany, black walnut, Honduras mahogany, yellow-dyed birch veneer

accent stripes

cocobolo fingerboard with 26 yellow-dyed birch veneer position markers; canarywood "banana" inlay at 12th position

and nameplate at 24th

top: mostly African mahogany, except upper horn (mineral-streaked poplar); canarywood FK "spider" logo and accent

inlays

back: reverse of front; canarywood "banana" plate at neckjoint; cover plate- Honduras mahogany

headstock: Honduras mahogany wings with poplar veneer top

hand-rubbed satin poly finish

perforated aluminum nut (hand-made)

EMG J-bass pickups

EMG 18-volt 2-band BTC system eq (and I plan to replace the stock black knobs with chrome)

Gotoh bridge and tuners

Nutrik locking jack

Dunlop strap locks

DR "Mellow Yellow" strings

Haven't played it on the full Ampeg rig yet, but on the practice amp it sounds very woody, but with the EMG aggressive edge- just what I was hoping for!

(Sorry about the quality of the pix, I'm not the greatest photographer! )

I think the raised neck looks kinda cool...

Assuming your press is "standard," the chuck fits onto a tapered shaft. Set the chuck back up on the shaft and knock it up with a hammer with a block of wood between the hammer and the chuck. That's all there is to it.

Awesome job, but that is SOOOO making me dizzy!

I believe Wishbass lists a truss rod as an extra option.

I wouldn't really use Wishbass as a gold standard for anything....

Not saying I would, just saying some people don't use rods.

I believe Wishbass lists a truss rod as an extra option.

I'm not really convinced by those safety planers as tilting a circle produces an elliptical profile rather than a circular one.

That's precisely why you can get a different radius based on the degree of tilt!

Yeah, that's the one I was talking about.

There's also a tutorial around here somewhere (I did a quick search but couldn't find it) about making your own radius blocks with a drill press and a Safe-T-Planer. It's a great method; I've made 12'", 16" and 20" blocks.